Sakura's Boys
by my-threesome
Summary: He returned home only to find his village broken and deserted. But in the settling dust, Sasuke will finally discover what it truly means to be loved. SasuSakuNaru
1. Coming Home

**This is my first fic, and I've been reading for months now, and only recently set up this account to start writing. My writing probably won't be very consistent, but that's because I'm taking the time to make it as well written as I can, while working it around my busy life.**

**If you're interested, 'Running Up That Hill' by Placebo was going through my head when I thought of this fic. Listen to it as you read if you'd like. For me at least, it certainly sets the mood.**

**Disclaimer: This is going to be the only one. It goes without saying that no-one on this site really owns anything. **

**Sakura's Boys**

**.:. -/ \- .:**

**Coming Home**

Sasuke Uchiha was running at full speed, panting, and heaving, his hands bleeding and throbbing. His wounds were slowing his top speed to that of a lowly Genin, but the raven haired man could not go any faster. He cursed his bad luck as he stumbled, though he was able to prevent himself from falling over. There were no trees here, just rock and dirt. He had no cover from the enemy, and as a Shinobi, he knew what his chances were of making it to his destination alive if he _was_ to be spotted coming this way.

But still he pushed on, every step harder than the last. Sweat soaked him and blood caked his skin. The moisture from his perspiration ran over his wounds, stinging him. He winced, his eyes only on the goal in front of him as he struggled to remain upright. It was a trial in and of itself, and he was not surprised. Considering who it was that he had just fought, and the kind of power he had to obtain in order to fight at that level, there was no room for surprise at the extent of his wounds. He hadn't expected it to be easy, but the _traitor_ had gone down with much more effort than he'd intended on making.

Sasuke clutched his side in pain at the memory, but forced his thoughts to focus on where he was going. It was the only sanctuary for him now, after everything. People would never forgive him for what he had done, and others still may try to kill him. But the Fourth Great Shinobi War was finally over, so he hoped they would at least understand what he had been through, and why he had had to do what he did.

The familiar horizon brought a smile to his face and with renewed vigour, he started to increase his speed. It was not far now.

But what awaited his eyes was not the sight he had anticipated. It was so different, so _wrong_. He stood still now, staring out over the ruins of what he had been fighting for. He had made a deal with the enemy for this. He had suffered to come here, to make it safe. That day, so long ago, had kept him going, and now it crept into his heart, more like a nightmare.

Yes, Sasuke Uchiha remembered that day very well…

**.:. -/ \- .:**

_Sasuke crept through the woods that surrounded Konoha. He was looking for the caravan, the entourage for a lack of a better word, accompanying the fifth Hokage. She was travelling alongside civilians, coming back from her visit the daimyo of the land of fire, so after another day's travel, they were resting comfortably, in a plush tent, rather than on tree branches, or in sleeping bags around a campfire, they couldn't risk keeping lit for long._

_The sentinels keeping watch did not notice the Uchiha as he activated his Sharingan and cast a powerful genjutsu around himself. He needed to get into the tent with the sleeping Hokage without drawing attention to himself, also expecting to leave just as stealthily. _

_He pushed the flap aside, after looking into the eyes of the sentinel posted directly outside the entrance. Even if he couldn't __see__ him, he'd definitely notice the flap of the tent miraculously opening itself. So the raven haired man entered unchallenged and drew his Kusanagi. The sword was a source of comfort for him now, now that he had lost everything else. He stepped silently over to the sleeping blonde after casting simple sleeping jutsus over the two Kunoichi sharing the tent with her. Even if Lady Tsunade screamed, they could not waken now. _

_But he did not want her to scream._

_Sasuke towered over her, holding his sword to her throat and watched as she instinctively squirmed, her eyes snapping open at the cold touch of the steel. She made to move out from under him, as any well trained ninja was capable of doing, and even managed to avoid his Sharingan. Unable to threaten her with her own life, Sasuke quickly repositioned his sword to the tender flesh of one of the Kunoichi sleeping peacefully only three feet away._

_The girl was very pretty, with long dark hair and a figure that made him think more __mature__ thoughts. It was not his intention to rid this world of such beauty._

"_Do not call to your security detail," he warned the Hokage, whispering hoarsely. "Or her blood will be on your hands."_

_Tsunade watched him carefully, though still, she avoided his Sharingan. She was obviously weighing her options, and realising she would not be able to close the distance between them before this young woman joined the ranks of the dead. Finally, she nodded her head._

"_What is it you want, Uchiha?"_

_He kept his sword to the girl's throat, but shifted his body to indicate he was ready to leave at a moment's notice if she decided to attack regardless. He had no intention of letting himself be caught after all._

"_I want you to look me in the eye, Hokage-sama."_

_Surprised at the suffix, she almost complied. "Deactivate the Sharingan first."_

_He remained motionless for a moment, not wanting to comply. But he had come looking for __her__, not the other way around. If he was going to leave here with what he wanted, then this was but the first in a long list of things he was going to have to do to make his goal possible. It wasn't a dream, it was never a dream; this __was__ going to happen, no matter what._

_Reluctantly, Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and grunted softly to let her know what he had done. But he would not remove his Kusanagi, in case she decided to attack._

"_And your sword," she said, not looking down at the peaceful face of the girl he held captive._

_Sasuke shook his head as brown eyes met black. "No."_

_She sighed and he realised she had known what his answer was going to be. It didn't move the disappointment from her face however. The fifth Hokage, the sole remaining Sannin, and the renown medical specialist; she was a force to be reckoned with, no matter what title she went by. This was why Sasuke would not give her an opening to attack, at least not until she had heard him out._

"_Speak Uchiha," she said, her face furious, but her voice even._

"_I have a deal for you," he said coolly, ignoring her as she raised her eyebrows at him. "I know you've been searching for Madara, but you can't catch him. He crosses dimensions before you can pin him down."_

_Tsunade nodded. "And?"_

"_And, I can give him to you."_

**.:. -/ \- .:**

The dark figure stood on the top of the Hokage Monument, his hair buffeted by the wind. It had grown longer but still retained the form of the jet black spiky hair he had had since childhood. His dark eyes pierced the mist surrounding the village hidden in the leaves, surprised by the level of destruction done to his old home. It made him angry, just thinking about how peaceful it had once looked, compared to now.

Sasuke did not activate his Sharingan. Any chakra usage from him now would hurt him. He needed longer to recover, even though he believed he had successfully thrown off his pursuers by approaching Konoha from the least likely direction. His wounds continued to hurt as he stepped closer to the edge and looked directly downwards, but they were no longer his main concern.

The last time he had come here, the village hidden in the leaves had not been in ruins. A sharp intake of breath; he struggled to breathe as he saw what was left of his home. The mist hovering over the debris was not normal. It had been set off like a high security alert, to warn those who knew what it meant that this place was not only empty, but potentially booby trapped.

Had it all been for nothing? It would seem that after all that fighting and all of his sacrifice that all he'd managed to do was be absent as the people he had once cherished died and suffered as a result. They had clearly gone out fighting. Certain events had not only awakened Sasuke's desire to protect his village again, but had clearly been a waste of time. Was there no-one left?

Making a decision, and certainly one he was not straining himself to do, he climbed down off of the top of the monuments, noting the deplorable state of the stone faces. He swallowed heavily, his eyes raking over the scene. The Hokage Monuments were well known all over the world, but few outside of the Shinobi villages ever saw them. They were no longer the impeccable images of past and present leaders, but a mockery of the sacrifice and hardship endured by leaf Shinobi to maintain the will of fire. Now look at them.

The first and second Hokage faces were demolished, as though the protruding rock had literally been _scooped out_, making Sasuke shiver involuntarily, disturbing mental images bloodying his eyesight. The third Hokage's face had split in half, with the pre-existing crack over the surface rupturing the carving like a miniature earthquake. The fourth Hokage's face was the least cracked, but was still broken beyond repair, with holes littering the surface – it looked like someone had used it for target practise.

Sasuke landed lithely on the nose of the fourth, fighting the spasms of pain wracking his body. He badly needed a medic, which was why he had taken the "back road" into Konoha, so to speak. But clearly, that was no longer going to be possible. He looked up and stared into the chiselled face of the fifth, wondering if she was even still alive. Her stone face was not broken, but _warped_, her features twisted as easily as if she was made of mud. How had this been done without breaking the stonework? It scared him to think that someone out there would be capable of doing this to rock on this level.

After a few more minutes of musing on the situation, he climbed down to street level. What a joke. There was no longer any indication that there had ever been any kind of road here, let alone that the rubble he had landed on instead of even ground was from now non-existent buildings. The dust had yet to settle, making him think this had happened not too long ago, but there was also something else in the air, besides dust and a smokescreen set up to warn invading Shinobi.

Ignoring the renewed pain in his eyes, Sasuke activated his Sharingan to keep an eye out for booby traps but saw none as he made his way through. There was nothing left, like he had guessed, no signs of life anywhere. He continued to follow his nose however, more convinced now than ever that there was something else going on here. The air was stale and heavy, making him nervous and agitated. Even though no-one else was around, he still would not let this show on his face. He had lost his Kusanagi in his fight with the _traitor_, feeling that a part of him had also been torn in two as it broke. The only weapon he had left was his Sharingan. He had lost _everything_ else.

Eventually, Sasuke stopped, looking around. He was in the ruins of his home, the Uchiha compound. It had not been spared this rampage. He growled, gripping his fractures ribs angrily. The Sharingan died in his eyes as he struggled to breathe. This was what he could smell; the heavy taste of blood in the air. But why had it led him _here_ of all places?

And fighting his own desire to destroy _something_, Sasuke did not see the first kunai coming. It slammed heavily into his shoulder before he could register he was under attack. He let out an involuntary groan, in both pain and shock, and spun around as he pulled it free from his body. There was someone still alive here alright.

They circled him like pack animals, though as soundlessly as the ninja they were. He activated his Sharingan through sheer force of will, trying to see who they were. It hurt him to use his chakra, but he didn't have a choice. Clearly these Shinobi had not gotten the memo that Sasuke Uchiha was no longer their enemy. Though he knew there would be those who would attack him like this anyway.

Sasuke braced himself for the next volley of kunai, but suddenly he couldn't move his body. Something had a hold of him and he no longer had the stamina to break free from such a childish jutsu. His injuries were more than debilitating, they were about to get him killed. That was his last thought before he saw black.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

+/_\+


	2. Scattered

**These characters are more battle hardened than the canon ones, so some will be slightly OOC due to this.**

**Sakura's Boys**

**.:. -/ \- .:**

**Scattered**

The end of the cigarette burned out on its own, and he refused to inhale any more. Perhaps it was time he gave it up altogether... again. It wasn't a particularly healthy habit, just like his brooding and quiet sulking. He had lost so much in this war, his family, his best friend, his anger. Sometimes he felt like there was nothing left inside of him anymore. It wasn't like he was some loose cannon with his emotions before Madara Uchiha had declared the fourth Great Shinobi War, but this new Shikamaru Nara was bordering on becoming an ice cube. And he had no intention of turning into Neji Hyuuga.

Still, he cared if those around him lived or died, and the sound of several ninja nearby made him feel protected and trusted. He was their commander and chief after all. This rabble had to answer to him directly, and he had been appointed the leader of this contingent.

'_Contingent, right, like we're some kind of force to be reckoned with.'_

There was nothing imposing about them. But on the Hokage's orders, they were staking out this area, waiting for a certain someone. Not that anyone else in this encampment knew the real reason they were sticking so close to Konoha. Less than a handful of people in total knew about Tsunade's deal with the Uchiha. Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki didn't even know. But if the last Uchiha did not turn up soon, Shikamaru's orders were to leave without him. It wasn't a decision Tsunade had come to lightly, but if Sasuke had survived his "encounter", then he would be back by now.

'_I never would have thought he'd defect from Konoha in the first place, let alone defect __back__ to us.'_

And that guy was going to die for Konoha? That was the only outcome Shikamaru could imagine that would explain why Sasuke hadn't come back yet. It was actually past the deadline that Tsunade had given Shikamaru, but the lazy Jounin couldn't be bothered leaving. Sure, he had little to no motivation when it came to unimportant tasks, and he was ridiculously intrigued by slow moving clouds, but his decision to remain a little longer was more personal.

He simply didn't want to leave another leaf ninja behind, ever again.

The dark haired Jounin tossed the cigarette aside and sighed, staring out over what was left of this newest hideout. The entire population of Konoha had been forced to move into these temporary shelters, from tent encampments to caves and the abandoned compounds near the Valley of the End that had once belonged to Orochimaru. The survivors of Madara's final attack on the leaf were scattered into four encampments. The remaining civilians were holed up in one with ninja escorts half a day north-east of Konoha; the remaining three encampments, consisting only of ninja were in safe locales marking an uneven, invisible line on the map between Konoha and the Valley of the End.

Only those in the encampments knew their exact location. Not that there was anyone left that would attack them now, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The other ninja nations had been devastated as well, but no-one in the land of fire knew how badly. The lines of communications had been severed, and it would be a few more days before the first scouts returned from the borders. Personally, Shikamaru was more worried about Suna than the other nations: a particularly stubborn Kunoichi, to be more precise.

A disturbance from the direction of Konoha drew his attention. Someone or _something_ was over there.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

Lady Tsunade was trying to sneak a bottle of sake when that annoying Hyuuga brat entered her tent after announcing himself. He hadn't even given her time to hide the bottle before _barging_ in. A moment after his arrival, Tsunade's newest apprentice followed him in. She had waited for a moment before entering, respectfully. That was what these damned tents had done to her. They'd stolen the respect she once exuded. It seemed more and more of these youngsters were forgetting that just because there was no lock on _this_ entryway, didn't mean that she wasn't still entitled to her privacy. And she used to have a proper office.

'_And a village.'_

"Lady Hokage," Tenten said, and bowed, ignoring her shishou's glaring. "The scouts have reported movement in the ruins."

Tsunade glanced at the impassive Hyuuga heir before addressing the only other Kunoichi in the room.

"Friendly or hostile?"

"They've yet to determine that ma'am."

'_Damn Uchiha,' _Tsunade thought grumpily. _'After all this, you had better still be alive.'_

"Dismissed Tenten; fetch me the copy ninja will you?"

"Of course shishou."

Tenten glanced at Neji before leaving. Neji didn't respond to her calculating glance, preferring to pretend his former team mate was not there. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him.

"When are you going to at least _try_ to move on?"

"There is no issue," he said plainly.

Tsunade sighed and sat back in her chair. This tent was slightly larger than average, and yet was not adorned with any personal belongings, containing only a small cabinet, table, and chair; a wicker basket under the table held a few private things for the fifth Hokage, but that was all. She was never one to over indulge in decorations, even though her liquor intake and gambling habits were clearly questionable.

'_Kami I miss gambling.'_

"Liar," she huffed. "You're still hung up on your cousin."

Neji's left eye twitched slightly, but he remained silent. The Hokage had very little sake left, so she popped it into the drawer of her desk, making a mental note to send her aides for more; if there _was_ more. She sighed, staring at the Hyuuga.

"No-one would blame you for getting angry," she said calmly, earning herself another eye twitch in response. "It was a very bad situation over all."

Neji nodded softly, remembering for a moment, that night he had run into the Hyuuga district, only to find his clan dying around him. He had garnered some measure of what it had been like for Sasuke Uchiha to come home to the slain bodies of those precious to him, except that Neji had not been a child, and his people were not all dead when he had arrived.

"Lady Tsunade?"

"Enter."

"You summoned me?"

Neji ignored the copy ninja, as the older Shinobi glanced at him. Kakashi had his headband down over his left eye as always, but to anyone who didn't know, there was no difference in him these days. He bore no obvious repercussions from the war, other than a very slight limp, only noticeable to those with trained eyes. Kakashi's war wound was under that headband. The hitai-ate covered the same gash over his eye it always had, but now it kept people from eyeballing his latest wound. The Sharingan was not only missing, but its removal had left a gaping hole in his eye. Lady Tsunade had done all she could to make it presentable for him, but he still refused to lift his hitai-ate. If she didn't already know he wasn't the vain type, she'd dismiss his claim that he was just used to it this way.

"I did indeed summon you," she said nonchalantly. "There has been movement reported in the ruins."

"Is it him?"

Neji glanced between them, confused.

Tsunade ignored the Hyuuga as she focused on Kakashi. "It's too early to know."

"You sent scouts?"

"Of course, but only animal ones."

"Who is closest?"

"Shikamaru should still be nearby."

"But it's past the cut off time."

"You know that Nara boy won't leave until he knows for sure he's not coming back. He's lost too much to just give up on anyone else now."

"That sounds like Naruto before the war."

"Well that blond _baka_ has that affect on people."

Watching this exchange, Neji started to feel annoyed. He had no idea what they were talking about, and abandoning his usually calm or stiff exterior, he snapped softly at them.

"What is going on?"

Kakashi had moved toward the Hokage absentmindedly during the entire exchange, now leaning heavily on her desk. He pulled away languidly and cocked his eyebrow at the Hyuuga's tone of voice. But Tsunade was the one who answered him.

"It's Sasuke Uchiha."

Neji frowned. "I thought all threats had been eliminated."

She smiled. "They have. But that boy is no longer one of them. He defected back to Konoha months ago."

"Then where has he been all this time?"

"Keeping close to Madara," Kakashi said. "We couldn't get near the older Uchiha, so Sasuke has been waiting for the perfect moment to kill him for us."

"And did he?" Neji asked, swallowing heavily.

"No idea," Tsunade said casually, noting the rising emotion in the Hyuuga. "But we'll know soon enough, if and when he comes back."

"But killing Madara is dangerous," Kakashi added. "Sasuke wasn't sure he could do it without getting himself killed in the process."

"So it was basically a suicide mission?"

They both nodded at Neji. He was surprised at this. Since when would Sasuke Uchiha risk himself to take out one of his own, let alone do it for Konoha? What had happened to him for him to be this way? These questions were eerily similar to the ones he had asked himself when the Uchiha first defected. It raised an important question that he needed to voice.

"With all this back and forth, how do you know you can trust him?"

Tsunade smiled. "Because he came into my tent one night, didn't kill me and handed me everything Konoha was looking for. On top of that, he has taken on Madara Uchiha of all people and was not looking to come back from that."

"Yet you still wait for him?"

"Of course," Kakashi said, not insulted by Neji's tone. "If there is even a remote chance he's still alive, having the Sharingan back in our midst would be worth waiting for Sasuke Uchiha."

Neji glanced at the silver haired Shinobi's hitai-ate, the area hiding _his_ loss. Did he miss having the Sharingan?

"I see," he said. "Why have you decided for me to know this now?"

The Hokage had summoned _him_ as well.

"Well originally," Tsunade said, "just to get you to check up on Shikamaru. It's past the time I told him to come back and I'm getting the feeling he's going to drag this one out. I need to know his situation, and not some lazily scribbled response via some summoning animal."

The separate four encampments holding survivors were all keeping communications open using summoning animals mostly, as the messenger hawks were more likely to be intercepted. If he was going to do this, Neji needed to find out where Shikamaru's encampment was.

"Where is he?"

Kakashi summoned Pakkun, and the little dog hopped over to the Hyuuga. "Hey there."

He was another one giving no outwardly signs he had only just survived a war. Neji nodded to him. He would already have Shikamaru's scent, of course.

"You leave immediately," Tsunade said. "Take two more people with you, including –"

"I'm not taking Tenten with me," he said emotionlessly.

Kakashi sighed. "She's not an enemy ninja you know. And she's never going to be –"

"And I am not _Hinata_," Neji snapped at Kakashi uncharacteristically, before turning to leave without bowing himself out of the Hokage's presence.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

It was all black. That was all he had seen his entire life – that and the blood of his slain clan. But Sasuke Uchiha wanted to change that. He wanted to be happy. It was just that life didn't care _what_ he wanted. So after he fainted from the blood loss, the shock of getting caught so easily and the pain from both his wounds and activating his Sharingan one too many times, all he could think about was his life. And of how much better everything would have been if someone had killed Danzou Shimura a long time ago or Madara Uchiha who should've been hunted down instead of merely ostracized from the Uchiha clan.

A snarl coming from nearby made him shiver; this sound was the kind of warning growl from a crazed dog that had been separated from his pack. Something that distraught was a danger to everyone around them. Sasuke pulled on his arm only to find he had been strapped down. His heart started to hammer. What was he doing here?

He remembered being in what was left of the Uchiha compound, drawn there by the smell of blood on the air. It was a trap; definitely someone with knowledge of who he was, as well as a strong sense of smell. Was it someone from Konoha, or whoever had destroyed the leaf? Sasuke had destroyed Madara only recently, the sounds of their battle masking all other noise, so he had not heard any explosions that would explain the extent of the damage done to Konoha. So _who_ had done it?

Sasuke looked around, his vision blurry from a blinding light, as well as the pain still in his eyes.

"Who are you?" He asked.

That growl came again; a fitting sound for grief if he ever heard one. So this person was originally from Konoha? That meant people had survived. But now that he thought about it, this was obvious. Despite the smell of blood lingering in the leaf, he had seen no bodies. So there _had_ to be survivors at least.

"We got him! Just you wait Uchiha filth; I'll get Shika and let him know the good news!"

Sasuke trembled as the mangy man growled again. Shika? Who was that? Shikamaru Nara?

"Well, go get him then."

"Right."

There was a shuffling sound, and Sasuke blinked heavily. The second voice was not so distorted by rage and loss. It was clearly female. He closed his eyes, trying to place the familiar voice. Why couldn't he place her? His head was heavy and his body still sore, and apart from the cleanup of residual blood loss, no-one had tended to his wounds. The person with the gruff voice he couldn't identify due to being laced with blood lust, re-entered the room a few minutes later, and he wasn't alone.

"We strapped him down," Kiba Inuzuka said matter-of-factly, "for our protection. Still don't know why you'd want him alive."

"Hokage's orders. Release the restraints."

"Aaww, Shikamaru! Are you sure you didn't knock yourself out with that new jutsu of yours? He's the enemy in case you didn't know."

"I know exactly who he is."

"Huh?"

"He's the reason we're all here."

"What?"

"Release the restraints Kiba."

The mangy man growled, and after undoing the bindings holding Sasuke down, glared at the Uchiha blatantly. Sasuke sat up weakly, and stared at the long scar along the man's face. It started above his left eyebrow and finished on his right cheek. He found himself suddenly not wanting to know what had happened to Konoha. They had clearly been through a lot. This room looked like a bunker, hastily put up, perhaps with a jutsu rather than brute force. Again, Sasuke wondered _where_ he was exactly.

He looked around, but could not see Kiba's constant canine companion. This explained the new tone in the man's voice, as well as the feral look on his face. Shikamaru smiled slightly at Sasuke; clearly, he harboured little to no ill will toward him. Did this mean he knew about his deal with Tsunade? It made sense.

The raven haired man's eyes widened as he noticed the female in the room. Shikamaru drew his attention with a cough, staring into those dark, uncertain eyes.

"Welcome home Sasuke Uchiha."

**.:. -/ \- .:**

+/_\+


	3. Waiting Impatiently

**These characters are more battle hardened than the canon ones, so some will be slightly OOC due to this.**

**Sakura's Boys**

**.:. -/ \- .:**

**Waiting Impatiently**

The sun was setting and just the soft glistening of orange light on the horizon was enough to make Naruto Uzumaki sleepy. He had been taking his turn as lookout, even though technically, he was meant to be in charge of this encampment and his time was supposed to be spent organising the newest batch of rations. They were close to the border to the Land of Rice Paddies, which was the home base for Orochimaru in the old days. They needed to be on their guard more than anything. He watched the sun go down, his blue eyes twinkling slightly at the sight as he wished for the light to return. But the moon was out, and the area was soon bathed in the soft glow of its light.

The base here was underground, and Naruto was the only person outside right now. This area was home to a lot of wild animals, mostly wolves and otters that travelled up here on occasion to forage for extra food. They left the relative safety of the water very rarely, but from his position, Naruto could see a couple along the ridge that overlooked the raging river below. He had not so fond memories of this place. The Valley of the End was just another reminder of his failures.

Naruto shifted his body slightly to look south from here instead. It was in that direction that lay not only Konoha, but Suna as well. Of course, he couldn't see them from here, even before the sun had set, but he still worried for his friend, Gaara no Sabaku. The only reports from that area told of sand tsunamis that engulfed the area. But this didn't necessarily mean Suna was lost. The fourth Kazekage could control the sands after all. Naruto held strong to the belief that his friend would not go down that easily.

He twirled a kunai in his hand absentmindedly, now thinking about how he had been placed in command of this encampment. The arrangements had separated him from both Kakashi Sensei and Sai, but at least he'd been able to bring Sakura with him. He still needed to apologise to Sai for getting angry when he'd come back without Yamato. The late member of Team Kakashi had died saving both Sai and Sakura, so Naruto's outburst was understandable, Sai would tell him. The smart mouthed root member would just smile a weird smile and tell him that his stupidity was to be expected.

Naruto sighed, glancing back over his shoulder at the Valley of the End. That was another friend that he wasn't able to save.

"Naruto."

The voice startled him. It belonged to Shino Aburame. Like so many ninja clan members, Shino was left without his immediate family, orphaned and one of very few survivors from his clan. And once the scattered ninja and civilian populous of Konoha reformed together again, the bug tamer was expected to take up the mantle of head of the Aburame clan. Naruto's other friends, Shikamaru Nara and Neji Hyuuga were in the same position. Kiba Inuzuka however, wasn't the oldest of his siblings, so his sister Hana, would be leading that pack.

Naruto smiled slightly, looking over the bug tamer. His clothes were newer of course, and he had had to replace his previous dark sunglasses with a new pair. Under that high upturned collar jacket, Naruto knew he also bore marks over his torso from chakra burns that were taking longer than usual to heal. That was why he was assigned to _this_ faction: Sakura Haruno was also here. The pinkette's healing skills far outstripped her shishou's, but even her skills weren't enough to hasten the healing process. Still, Shino was a very patient man and was not entirely bothered by the time it was taking.

Naruto however, had no injuries. It would be safe to assume that he was the closest to death of all the people who had survived, once the enemy had been defeated, but the power of the Kyuubi inside of him saw to relieving him of any side effects. He was the only jinchuriki left alive now.

'_But not the only demon.'_

"Yeah yeah, bug man," the blond said sarcastically. "I know, I know; I shouldn't be out here, but someone has to keep watch."

He'd relieved the last sentinel hours ago, a young Chunin called Domu Honshuma. Shino knew this now; realising Naruto was taking a less than practical approach to his leadership. The knucklehead was going to become Hokage one day, if they ever got their village back, but continued to act as though the position was years away. He was as unpredictable as ever.

"And I am here to relieve you," Shino said, in that low, drab voice of his.

Naruto opened his mouth to tell him off, but the sound of a familiar female voice shut him up.

"Naruto!" Moegi yelled to him. "Sakura's driving everyone crazy again."

The blond sighed, waved his hands to Shino and turned away to leave. The Aburame caught Moegi's eye and nodded his head in silent gratitude.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

Walking through the underground tunnels, Naruto was again reminded of the time he had tracked Sasuke here, only to find several of Orochimaru's henchmen waiting for him instead. It was shortly before his return to Konoha, where the leaf was destroyed beyond repair; at least according to the builders, and Lady Tsunade.

'_What does granny know?' _Naruto grumbled silently.

But this time, trekking through the halls, he heard the sounds of leaf ninja in the rooms, the living quarters not full, but at least the aroma of tonight's meal wafted through here, and not the smell of Orochimaru's experiments. This was the most secure of the factions containing Konoha survivors, and therefore housed the most people. Unfortunately, due to some minor traps still in place that they hadn't been able to get rid of yet, it was no place to bring the civilian population.

Naruto strode with purpose, knowing exactly where he was going. This place was not a maze, with every corridor inevitably leading to the central chamber. He found the room he was looking for pretty quickly; the place he had been sharing with Sakura Haruno. When the leaf had been attacked, they'd been dating for six months. Comfortable enough with each other, Sakura had not protested the idea of sharing a room with him. They weren't unfamiliar with each other's habits after all. He didn't bother knocking on the door, it was his as well after all, and just pushed it open instead. He didn't even need to turn the handle.

"Saks?"

Naruto spotted Sakura in the near dark immediately, as she ransacked the chest he always kept at the foot of their bed. She looked annoyed. She also looked _hot_, her short pink hair slightly flustered as she shifted her body side to side in quick, rapid movements that glued his eyes to her hips. She spun around to face him and he took in the sight of the unblemished face, the porcelain skin, and her feisty temperament, reflected in her glare as she put her hands to her hips.

'_Those delicious, supple hips…'_

"Naruto," she said hotly, "where is it?"

"Where is what?" He asked, distracted.

She just continued to glare at him. "You know what!"

The blond chuckled. "Just kidding Saks, I saw it in there last night. Here."

He moved up next to her and stopped her frantic hands as she returned to carelessly tossing the contents of the chest aside, throwing some out onto the floor. She was looking for the necklace her mother had given her. Coming back from a shower, she'd remembered that she had put it away for safe keeping yesterday. But Sakura wanted to wear it again. Naruto knew her well enough to know what she had been fussing over.

'_But what had Moegi been talking about?'_

He found the necklace quickly and clasped it around her neck, kissing her skin as he went. She smiled slightly as he spun her around to face him, and he lifted a hand to her face, brushing away loose strands of pink. Naruto lowered his mouth to hers, and she threw her arms around his neck. Sakura nuzzled his neck, loving the feel of his hands on her as he held her gently.

"I love you Naruto."

But there was definitely something missing from this perfect picture. She sighed.

'_Or __someone__.'_

**.:. -/ \- .:**

Ignorant of the pain in his side, caused by an injury during the war, Neji Hyuuga pushed on. He wasn't debilitated, the wound having healed as much as it was going to. It was another reason he didn't want to broach the subject of Tenten with anyone. He'd brought two Jounin along with him in his search for the encampment under the command of Shikamaru Nara. Their names escaped him, but he didn't care. They headed south-east, Pakkun leading the way by scent alone. The sun had set, but with his Byakugan, Neji avoided any and all obstacles, not caring really, about the near darkness. The cool air was oddly comforting and the silence of his companions allowed him to dwell on his own thoughts.

His mind's eye was on that night, when Madara's underlings attacked with the power of the bijuus; transforming these mindless beasts in the centre of Konoha, their first targets had been the ninja clans. The Hyuuga were hit hardest, with the Akimichi family next, followed by the Aburame, Inuzuka, Nara and Yamanaka, in that order. The worst part was that it had been such an effectual strike, that every clan was robbed of its elders and leader in one fell swoop. The only leader left alive once the survivors were able to get out of the village was Lady Tsunade.

Neji shook himself mentally, redirecting his attention into the waiting night as they travelled. He didn't hate Tenten – he could never hate someone who had just been trying to help him. But every time he looked at her, he remembered the screams of his clan, the burning houses, and Hinata lying in his arms at the end of it all. He swallowed heavily, and scolded himself.

'_Snap out of it.'_

"Over there," Pakkun said some time later. "There's a genjutsu covering some rock formations."

Neji slowed to a stop as he took in the sight of the last Uchiha, standing just outside the stone structure. It was just made out of rock, so it was more like a cave with a genjutsu around it. Inside, Neji didn't doubt it still had a few conveniences, like some beds. But he was aware that this group had been put together for their natural tendency toward the rough and tumble lifestyle, which was why it was mostly populated by the surviving Inuzukas and ninja who looked almost as feral.

'_Except Shikamaru,' _Neji noted.

He supposed the lazy genius was in charge of them to keep them from running amok.

Sasuke's mere appearance was startling to Neji. He had changed so much, grown a few centimetres since the last time he'd seen him, and was no longer wearing those strange dark clothes either, the jacket and rope normally tied around him also missing. In essence, he didn't really look like himself, wearing a dark blue shirt not unlike his old Uchiha one, with the same coloured pants. But really, they had _all_ been through enough to claim themselves apart from who they once were. Movement behind the Uchiha drew the Hyuuga's attention for a moment before he set his pupil-less eyes back to Sasuke.

Shikamaru Nara was the next to emerge from the cave-like edifice.

"Lady Tsunade filled you in?" He asked rhetorically, noticing the look on Neji's face.

The Hyuuga nodded his head, not able to tear his eyes away from the Uchiha. He had no glint in his eyes, no sword on his back and seemed to be having trouble standing upright. Kiba Inuzuka prowled out from behind Shikamaru, an annoyed look on his scarred face.

"Well isn't this quaint," he snarled. "You two can pow-wow on how fucking unfair it is to be the last of your clan and have a good cry together."

He scoffed and moved away as Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Neji.

The Hyuuga continued to stare unblinkingly at the last Uchiha. He had always sympathised with Sasuke, being the only one of his clan left and the torment of his brother slaughtering his clan (though Itachi would never have been able to do such a thing without Madara's help). But the lavender eyed Shinobi would never have believed he would ever empathise. The momentary hint of emotion in the Uchiha's eyes was enough to stiffen Neji's body.

'_I do not want your pity.'_

Surely Sasuke understood _that_ at least. The pain was too new for the Hyuuga; he didn't want to dwell on it right now. Tearing his eyes away from Sasuke, Neji addressed Shikamaru instead.

"The Hokage wishes to know how long you're intending on staying here. But since Sasuke Uchiha _has_ returned, I would suggest you make preparations to meet up with the second encampment."

Shikamaru nodded his head. It had always been the plan to divide the camps into three, and then some issue with the underground compound had forced a fourth hideout, to separate the civilians, but with ninja escorts. This first group had been waiting closest to Konoha, for the last Uchiha. They were now expected to rendezvous with Tsunade before everyone heading to the den at the Valley of the End. It had been the Hokage's idea to do this.

"Who put captain obvious in charge?" Kiba growled.

"_Behave_," Hana Inuzuka snapped at him, also emerging from the temporary shelter behind Shikamaru.

The group that had taken down Sasuke consisted only of Inuzukas, some including Kiba, who no longer had their canine companions. But they knew very well he had only gone down so easily because of his wounds and low chakra. Hana could smell the residual blood from a prior battle on him even now. She wasn't privy to the details on what he had done in return for diplomatic immunity, but it had clearly taken a bite out of him. Shikamaru had only told them that the Hokage had struck a deal with him, and he was not to be arrested or harmed in any way.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring Tenten," Hana said to Neji, remembering that before the attack on Konoha, the two had been an item.

"Neji and Tenten aren't talking to each other Hana," Kiba said from his position six feet away.

"Actually, he won't talk to _her_," Ino Yamanaka said.

She had emerged from the cave so quietly, that Neji was surprised to see her. He thought she was with the civilians. She too had changed because of the war, her blonde hair shorter, just past her shoulders, and braided with black strings that looked more like thin rope than hair ties. She was working alongside the Inuzuka clan, so of course she wasn't the dainty looking Kunoichi she used to be. Their ferocious battle styles had rubbed off on her. It had even saved her life. Neji frowned at her, not particularly happy with the conversation.

"There is no issue," he said, annoyed.

"Sure," she rolled her eyes. "I believe you. That's why she's depressed and you're even more crotchety than usual."

Kiba was trying to get an outdoor campfire started; the grungy Inuzuka cackled, apparently finding this newer version of Ino far more interesting than the old one. Sasuke shifted slightly, still silent, but was staring at Neji with something between surprise shock and pity. The Hyuuga glared back at him. He would not be treated this way. Not by the same man who had once wanted Konoha destroyed, in much the same manner it had now been done. He would mourn his clan, and in his own way.

Sasuke turned away from the Hyuuga finally, as the ninja around him were carting essentials out of the cave. There wasn't much, as the larger equipment, they were leaving behind. They intended on collapsing the structure, but the Uchiha ducked back into the structure to help bring out everything they would need, as painfully aware of the stares from the remnants of the Inuzuka clan as he was of the curious looks Ino was giving him. She surprised him really; the first time was when he'd awoken from being knocked out by a paralysis jutsu and noticed her new "look". The next was when she healed his wounds so efficiently. He'd heard that Sakura's medical skills outstripped Tsunade's, but was pleasantly surprised when Ino proved more than capable of healing his more obvious wounds, though he still needed time for more recuperation.

In the years he had spent with Orochimaru, then Hebi, who he renamed Taka, and finally the Akatsuki, he had encountered very few medical ninja who were at Ino's level, Kabuto being the best he'd seen thus far. It made him nostalgic really, wondering which encampment Sakura was in, and how she would react to seeing him again. She'd tried to kill him, and he'd almost killed her… It wasn't exactly a conversation starter. But ever since he'd struck that deal with Tsunade, Sakura had never been far from his thoughts. He would worry about seeing her again, but then remind himself, that once he'd disposed of Madara, he would probably be dead.

Well it was done, and he was still alive, so Sasuke Uchiha fully intended on making Sakura Haruno _his_.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

+/_\+


	4. Violate Intrusions

**The NaruSaku lemon here is just a short one. The SasuSakuNaru angle of this story is upcoming, but there are a few things to get out of the way first.**

**Sakura's Boys**

**.:. -/ \- .:**

**Violate Intrusions**

Neji Hyuuga, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Kiba and Hana Inuzuka were heading to the encampment where the fifth Hokage waited impatiently for them. Trailing behind them were an assortment of Inuzuka clan members and a group of equally feral looking Shinobi, not to mention the Jounin who had accompanied Neji, as well as Pakkun. It was a large entourage, and made Sasuke nervous. They were too easily spotted and even easier to track.

He had to keep reminding himself that no-one was coming after them anymore, and that the pain wracking his body had been worth it after all. The structural aspects of Konoha may not have survived, there were still _people_ intact, and he was looking forward to seeing old friends again. Of course, he was also nervous, slightly terrified and wary of the reception he was going to get. But he was confident he was going to at least survive it, no matter what _it_ was. He needed to see Naruto, to find Kakashi alive and well and most of all, make sure that a certain pinkette had survived as well. She was the main focus of his return to Konoha. She _needed_ to still be alive.

Shikamaru kept pace with Sasuke easily as Neji took the lead, silent as ever. The rest of their party kept their eyes and ears open at the back of the formation.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Neji's back, wanting to voice his question to Shikamaru about the Hyuuga clan. He knew that it was Madara's fault, that more than likely, the tailed beasts he'd intended on sending to the hidden villages had hit their marks after all. Sasuke hated himself for not finishing off the long lived Uchiha earlier. He needed to be certain he could kill him, regardless of the consequences, but was certain he'd stopped him in time to prevent the release of the bijuus. It would appear that he had miscalculated, in a _massive_ way. This more than anything had been the reason for his barely contained emotional response to Kiba's outburst about Neji being the last of his clan.

Sasuke had felt that pain, _was_ feeling that pain, and knew that while it may ease, that it would never go away. Not completely. It was a void that could never be filled, not as easily as losing the people around him in some ambush set by enemy ninja. The pain of the loss of family ran deeper than that.

"Worried?" Shikamaru asked him.

The Uchiha was surprised that he'd started a conversation that wasn't necessary. Didn't he find these kind of things too troublesome?

Sasuke only nodded his head.

"The Hokage is in the encampment we're heading to," Shikamaru drawled. "She can answer any and all questions you have. Kakashi is there too."

Sasuke only nodded again, wanting to know about Sakura and Naruto as well, but decided to wait to ask the copy ninja instead. The relief that swept through him, hearing that Kakashi was alive, did not show on his face as he glanced at Shikamaru, further surprised when the strange man next to him instigated even more conversation. The war had clearly knocked his head about.

"Neji's not who he used to be," the lazy Jounin said, "but he'll get better. He's been taking his anger out on Tenten, but he knows she doesn't deserve it."

Despite himself, Sasuke wanted to keep this conversation going.

"What happened?" He asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Not sure, but I think it has something to do with how Hinata died."

"The bijuus."

That wasn't a question, but Shikamaru nodded anyway.

They fell silent and Sasuke continued to watch the distant Hyuuga until the tent encampment that Tsunade was in charge of came into view. All of his nervousness came flooding back and he barely managed to keep his face as straight as possible, slowing to a stop as Neji came to a halt. The Hyuuga pointed to Tsunade's tent.

"She's in there."

He left without a word, which was yet another thing that surprised Sasuke. Not that he had made his comment more succinct than necessary, but that he had just ignored protocol. From what he could remember, in this kind of situation, Neji was the one expected to brief the Hokage.

"Come on," Shikamaru said, indicating to Sasuke to follow him.

"I'm coming too," Kiba said, the sentiment echoed by Ino.

The rest of their group moved away to find themselves some temporary shelter. They would need to move again, and soon, so they weren't looking to get comfortable. The three Shinobi and one Kunoichi ducked into Tsunade's tent after Shikamaru announced their presence and the Hokage bade them enter.

"Sasuke."

Tsunade stood up and strode over to the last Uchiha, looking like a mother greeting her wayward son. Sasuke didn't know how to respond when she hugged him, his eyes narrowed as he tried to think of what he was at least supposed to say in a position like this. But she pulled out of the hug without caring that he hadn't returned it and Sasuke was relieved. He looked around and his eyes fell on that single, dark iris that belonged to his ex-Sensei. Kakashi smiled slightly under the mask.

"Welcome back Sasuke."

"You're hurt," Tsunade said to the Uchiha, glancing at Ino.

The younger blond Kunoichi nodded her head. "I did what I could, but he needs more attention."

Tsunade waved Sasuke over and he obeyed silently. Ignoring the growl that came from Kiba, the Hokage started to heal Sasuke's torso, taking note of every wound and the chakra depletion. He was in more pain than he was letting on, she could see this. He was a Shinobi through and through, this one. She moved her hands and discovered blood in his lungs. He coughed softly and she looked into those dark eyes.

"You'll need to sit down for the next part, there's blood in both lungs. Kiba, fetch me a bucket."

The mangy man growled again but did as he was told. He was not taking Sasuke's survival well, despite the fact that the Uchiha had helped Konoha. He wasn't going to trust him until he knew _how_ the little brat had helped. It wasn't clear to him. But he knew one thing for sure, and that was that if it wasn't for Sasuke Uchiha, Madara would never have gotten as far as he did. So until someone gave him a _very_ good reason not to hate the Uchiha, Kiba was going to keep his eyes on the little _shit_.

Tsunade sat Sasuke down and placed the bucket in his hands.

Watching patiently, Kakashi turned his head to Shikamaru. "Your decision to remain longer paid off."

Shikamaru nodded. "Thankfully."

Kiba grunted again, and Ino placed a hand on his back in a comforting way.

"Are you two together?" Kakashi pointed at them, raising his eyebrow at them and she blushed.

Kiba grinned at the copy ninja, making Ino's blush deepen. Kakashi took that as a "yes".

"They haven't told anyone," Shikamaru said, "but everyone already knows."

"There," Tsunade said, finished.

Sasuke coughed a few more times, grateful as he noticed the difference in his breathing. The pain from his now healed wounds were also gone.

"Thank you," he said softly, and the Hokage smiled down at him.

He remained sitting on the chair, not trusting the strength of his muscles. He really needed to _rest_.

"We'll pack up the encampment and leave in the morning," Tsunade said, as though reading his mind. "Our destination is the compound near the Valley of the End previously owned by Orochimaru."

Sasuke nodded. "There are numerous traps in that place."

"We know, which is why the civilians are in yet another place."

"Will you aid in finding and destroying the traps?" Kakashi asked, and his former student nodded his head solemnly.

Sasuke stood up, trembling slightly and moved toward his former Sensei as though to greet him more appropriately and opened his mouth to speak. But he was interrupted.

"Lady Hokage!" Aoba Yamashiro came running in without announcing himself.

"Aoba!" Tsunade yelled. "I've had it! Will you people stop barging in here like you own the place! This is my _personal_ tent, not some summer vacation hot spa!"

Aoba stopped, frozen in fear. Behind his sunglasses, he was blinking rapidly. Everyone in the room (except for Tsunade and Sasuke) felt sorry for him. For days now, she was teetering on the edge of pounding the next person who stormed into her tent unannounced, and Aoba had just drawn the imaginary short straw.

As the fifth Hokage blew up, yelling obscenities at the poor unfortunate Jounin, Sasuke moved closer to Kakashi and turned his head away from the spectacle only four feet away from him. He ignored the obvious danger of standing this close to an angry Tsunade and went to speak to the silver haired ninja again.

"Naruto and Sakura at the compound," Kakashi said, before Sasuke could ask, correctly assuming the Uchiha would like to know this. "As I'm sure you're dying to know."

Sasuke smiled slightly, grateful. It was a relief to know they were fine. But by the look on his former Sensei's face, there was more to this. He decided to find out when they arrived there and moved the conversation to a topic he was more comfortable with.

"Got any war wounds?" He asked, genuinely interested.

Kakashi lifted his hand to tap his covered eye, brushing the cloth from his hitai-ate as he fingered the now empty socket. The deliberate movement of his finger over the eye crevasse switched a light bulb on in Sasuke's head and he realised what he meant.

His eyes roved over the left side of Kakashi's hidden face. "It's gone?"

His former Sensei only nodded. The raven haired man smiled slightly.

"Well don't expect me to be giving you _mine_ any time soon."

His attempt at lightening the mood went over well. Kakashi crinkled his eyes and even the mask couldn't hide his wide smile.

"I'm glad to see a semblance of my favourite former student has remained," he said jovially.

Sasuke lowered his eyes for a moment before looking back up at the man. "Do you miss having a Sharingan?"

"To the point that I'm so used to having one. But I only accepted it from Obito because I knew it would one day save my life and that of my fellow ninja. He told me it would save me, and the village."

"And did it?" Sasuke asked, knowing the answer.

Kakashi nodded his head. "Over and over again."

Sasuke frowned at him, remembering all the times his ex-Sensei had told Team Seven about loyalty and not abandoning your comrades.

"Did he die in vain?"

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at him, startled that the Uchiha would ask such a personal question. He had never thought to ask about his Sharingan before, or how he'd received it, let alone _why_. It would seem he was correct in his assumptions that Sasuke had changed. He resembled now, that young man who had once looked to him to help him with his own Sharingan training and the cute little Genin who hung on his every word. The copy ninja was pleasantly surprised by the composed characteristic of this Shinobi before him, remembering the last time he'd seen Sasuke, the Uchiha had looked blood thirsty.

Perhaps it had been an act then… or now.

"Yes," Kakashi said, deciding to answer finally. "He did. Both of my team mates did."

'_Because I was so stupid and followed the rules too closely and didn't put enough stock in our friendship,' _he thought, but would never say out loud.

Even after all this time, he was still ashamed of his actions back then. He supposed this was how Sasuke felt now; the raven haired man nodded, letting that topic die out.

"Thank you," Sasuke said so softly, that his former Sensei almost didn't catch it.

"For what?"

"For letting me come back."

Sasuke didn't want to show him how deeply he had worried over this. Kakashi was similar to him in the fact that he didn't raise his voice and kept his emotions to himself, for the most part. But he had been worried he would say or do _something_ to him when they met again, especially after the last time they'd seen each other…

Kakashi smiled widely. "Oh _I'm_ not the one who's going to haul you over the coals, Sasuke. You and I both know that."

Sasuke nodded. He was referring to Sakura. Naruto would definitely be excited to see him, even if he _did_ try to deck him, but it was Sakura's impending anger that was forefront in both their minds. She had tried to kill him, then he had almost killed _her_, and neither of them were alive due simply to coincidence. He was _terrified_ of what the pinkette would do to him, as well as excited at the prospect of seeing her again. It was his own fault, he knew.

Tsunade finished berating Aoba and managed to get him talking again long enough for him to inform her that some of the scouts sent to the borders of the land of fire had returned. Aoba spoke evenly after recovering from his verbal beating.

"Kumogakure has been completely destroyed, they're not sure yet of any survivors. Iwagakure is the least damaged, property wise, but with a higher death toll than even Konoha; final count is hazy on that though. The rest of the scouts are still over two days out, so no word on Sunagakure or Kirigakure."

"Inform the remaining scouts we'll be in the compound by the time they return," Tsunade said and Aoba obediently left.

Kiba, Ino, and Shikamaru led the way as all but Tsunade left her tent. It was time to prepare for their leave in the morning, and bunk down for the night. Sasuke was nervous again, so much so that he didn't get much sleep that night. He wondered how Naruto and Sakura would receive him, and whether or not either of them would even speak to him again.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

Sakura Haruno could still see the rubble that was once her home village in her mind's eye, even after all this time. She felt a pang in her chest every time she remembered the state it was in now. She had spent hours searching through the debris, helping with the collection of bodies before the last group had left the territory controlled by the village hidden in the leaves. And after everything, she was glad she had been assigned to the compounds, even if it did bring back angry memories of the snake Sannin. This place had a few more of the bare necessities already installed, so she didn't have as much of a fuss when trying to shower.

Right now however, she found herself aroused, in the room she shared with her lover.

"I love you Naruto."

She repeated this to her boyfriend as he caressed her body. Naruto Uzumaki had won her heart during the war and she didn't regret giving it to him. She still loved Sasuke, but that ship had sailed; he was the enemy, and may have even been killed during one of Madara's attacks.

Sakura kept her desire to cry at this to herself. She brought Naruto's mouth to hers and let him push her backward, onto their bed. The kiss intensified and after a few minutes of simply groping each other, she started to undress the blond, starting with his black top, the fishnet undershirt, and then finally the orange pants that were still an eyesore for her. She loved him, but they were _painful_ to look at. Once he was naked, she pulled away from him, her eyes moving over his bare chest, and lingering on his dick.

He chuckled at her and grabbed her roughly.

"No fair, Sakura-chan," he purred into her neck. "I wanted to undress you first."

She giggled, and let him pull off her clothes. She was still wearing her red top, pink apron skirt, and black shorts, not wanting to switch to the medic uniform as Tsunade had haughtily ordered her to when the encampments had been formed. Sakura climbed backwards along the bed, getting comfortable against the pillows and taunting Naruto as he crawled to her.

"No need to rush things," he said, half growling, like the fox inside him.

Sakura ran her hand along Naruto's bare chest. "So what you're saying is we have all night, right?"

He nodded his head, not smiling, but looking at her with such intense ferocity that she couldn't stop a sigh from escaping her mouth. The war was over, who knew where Sasuke was? And who cared, right? She swallowed heavily.

'_I do,' _she thought, not letting her concern over the missing-nin show on her face.

Naruto was here, she was in love with him, and that was what mattered.

So as he climbed on top of her, she let the rest of the world disappear; it didn't matter, she didn't care. The blond now kissing her with renewed vigour and fingering her vagina was the only person that mattered to her right now. She growled and bit his bottom lip, making his fingers thrust faster into her womanhood and he wasn't treading carefully. Twisting his hand inside her, four fingers fucking her wet, tight pussy, he pressed down on her clit. She cried out, her body writhing underneath him.

"Na-ru-to…" She whinnied.

He chuckled. "Sa-ku-ra."

He pulled his hand out of her after she came onto his fingers and licked her juices from his hand, watching as her eyes followed the movement. This only spurred her on further, the explicit mewing from her mouth made his dick twitch and he was almost ready. Naruto lowered his lips to her nipples and she pulled on his hair. He made her come again and she growled.

"Naruto, fuck me _now_."

Obediently, he positioned himself and thrusted into her without warning. Sakura groaned loudly, arching her body and twisting Naruto's hair between her fingers again, pulling on the strands roughly. He rocked back and forth, hovering over her, the gleam in his bright blue eyes captivating her. He pushed into her, pounding relentlessly as she moved with him. This wasn't their first time together, and as a result, they knew each other's body very well.

Naruto lost himself to the scent, sensations, and sounds of his cherry blossom, not knowing that she wasn't entirely lost to him.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

+/_\+


	5. Reunited

**These characters are more battle hardened than the canon ones, so some will be slightly OOC due to this.**

**Sakura's Boys**

**.:. -/ \- .:.**

**Reunited**

If there was one thing in this world that Naruto Uzumaki feared more than the death of loved ones, it was the death of loved ones by his own hands. He had yet to kill someone who wasn't an enemy, thankful that in all the time during the war, he had been spared this particular horror. He knew that taking friendly fire as the expression went was a very real possibility during war. He had however, _seen_ it happen. It was why the leaf eleven had been reduced to eight. They had lost Hinata to the slaughter that claimed the Hyuuga clan, and Choji died trying to get as many Akimichi to safety as possible; both of them were killed by enemy ninja or the concentration of bijuu chakra. It was Rock Lee, who had been hit by a stray fireball jutsu conjured by a now dead Shinobi that had been killed by friendly fire. In the chaos of that night, it could've been worse.

They had gotten lucky.

It was not a story for the faint hearted, the tales that people told each other these days. Everyone had a story from that night, and every memory Naruto had, was stronger than the ones he had of the days just before or immediately after. He was only alive because of the Kyuubi regenerative powers, but it had strained his body and he'd lost some things he'd never thought possible. He could remember with great detail the confusion of the first few minutes, when the Sensing System Technique Barrier previously set up in preparation for Pein's invasion was renewed, and set off by Madara's attack.

It had literally exploded under the weight of the incoming bijuu.

Naruto woke in the early hours of the morning, a cold breath on the back of his neck, the images of that night scaring him as they always did. But the breath on his neck felt _real_. He had no idea where it came from; Sakura was curled up next to him, her back flush against his chest. There were no after effects of the breath either, except for the involuntary shiver that rippled through Naruto's body. He had been dreaming of the last time he'd seen Sasuke Uchiha before Konoha entered his unconscious thoughts. That bloody teme and those Taka brats, as Lady Tsunade had started to call them. He had never seen his former team mate so angry and cold at the same time.

The blond gripped Sakura tighter to him. Naked, under the lining of their blanket, they felt only each other's heat. Naruto didn't want to move from this position and so closed his eyes again, trying to reclaim sleep. But it didn't come. That strange feeling wouldn't go away, like someone or _something_ was watching him.

It was otherworldly, like that time he'd summoned Gamatatsu and Naruto had been forced to dismiss the idiot to stop the toad summons from staring at him. Naruto had been having a bad day, and the power of the Kyuubi wasn't healing him quickly enough. It had already shortened his life to rely on it.

'_Which is why I've had it permanently sealed from my chakra system.'_

He couldn't summon the red chakra now, even if he wanted to. It was better this way.

Naruto stroked Sakura as she slept, noting the disconcertment on her face as her eyes twitched and she shuddered slightly. It wasn't him; she was having the same dream as usual. Sometimes the pinkette dreamt about that night. She never woke up in a sweat or screaming for that matter, but it was disturbing enough to Naruto to know that these were not images she could purge from her mind. She was for the most part, physically untouched by war. The blond knew where all her scars were, and that was only because she let him stroke her as they made love. Her scars were unseen by others and faint enough that Naruto had not realised at first she had any. It was only because he'd seen her naked before she bore the majority of the soft blemishes that he noticed them afterward. He could compare the difference in his mind's eye.

Naruto ran his fingers down along her face, under her chin and toward her throat. Her uneven breathing frightened him, even if he understood it. Her skin was silky smooth and she inhaled sharply as his wandering hand found and cupped her left breast.

"Mmm."

Naruto shifted slightly as Sakura woke up groggily.

"Naruto?" She asked, yawning. "What time is it?"

"Probably early."

She giggled softly. "Baka."

Sakura rolled over to face him, glancing at the clock as she did so. "It's only seven thirty. Did you wake me on purpose?"

"I didn't wake you."

"Did so."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did..." He trailed off, sighing.

"At least you agree." She yawned again. "Are you okay Naruto? You look worried."

He shook his head. "Just bad dreams, like you."

She nodded, and held him tighter, her breath warming his naked torso. "I was dreaming about my parents," she said. "My mother was telling me how much she hated me, that I should have been there with her and my father, and how I should've died instead of them."

Naruto lifted her head. She tried to stop him, and the tears started. She'd told herself a long time ago that she wouldn't cry over anything anymore, but these stupid nightmares were making a liar out of her.

"They would never say that," he said. "You know that."

She nodded, reaching up to kiss him. "I know Naruto. I'm sorry. It's just my stupid imagination."

"You're wearing the necklace still."

Sakura fingered the surface of the flat pendant carefully. The inlay was gold, a flower decoration: Sakura – cherry blossom. It was her last birthday present from her mother and had cost a lot. It had been specially made. It made her feel better. Naruto was just reminding her of this. She rarely took it off, whether she was training (it was safe under her top at the time), roaming the compound, looking for something to do, or knocking boots with Naruto (she enjoyed that past time the most). She still didn't know why she'd taken it off before jumping in the shower.

Naruto kissed her head and she let go of the necklace, laced her right leg over his waist, and pulled him flush against her. "Mmm. I like that."

He chuckled and ran a hand through her short, pink hair. "Go back to sleep."

He waited for her breathing to deepen again, and then resumed his stroking.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

There was no wind, and therefore no scent to follow in pursuit of his enemy. But still the figure continued, having found something interesting nonetheless. There were _people_ nearby. They were travelling quickly, so definitely Shinobi; he wasn't so good at the whole discerning chakra thing. He could track yes, but it wasn't his specialty. It wasn't why he was _here_.

The figure ran full pelt toward them, keeping his distance though, as these were not ninja that he had met before now. As a result, he did not know if he could trust them not to attack him on sight. The fighting had stopped, but at great cost. There was only hatred and intolerance in the world of Shinobi, the earlier generations had set this in stone. But there were those that had turned their back on their ancestors, trying to pave a brighter future, not that it had worked. The Shinobi world was in ruin, the civilians caught in the cross fire and the daimyos themselves missing and potentially all assassinated. This was the world the ninja had forced on everyone around them.

The idiots.

The figure was surprised when this group of ninja, now clearly outlined to him as originally coming from Konohagakure, approached a place he knew better than to go near. It was dangerous here, what with all the traps, undead and experiments from that snake Sannin. Perhaps that was why they were here, to finish his work. If this was true, then he would be surprised. Of course, no-one else was looking to fuss with immortality jutsus, or create viral concoctions to be used on human guinea pigs so he could perfect his ability to collect more specimens for his work. Two beady eyes surveyed the ninja suspiciously, as they approached the entrance to the hidden compound once owned by Orochimaru.

The party came to a slow stop at the sight of the two figures outside of the compound. They were changing shifts it seemed. One of the figures shaded his eyes to note that the leaf ninja in front of them were led by Lady Tsunade and immediately bowed respectfully. His scarf almost fell from around his neck as he bent at the waist.

"Lady Hokage," Konohamaru Sarutobi said evenly. "Welcome back."

The second figure shifted his head slightly, and his jaw dropped at the sight of Sasuke Uchiha. Both of the two figures were startled, but the blond was the only one making a scene as he jumped to his feet, more alert than he'd been in days. But still, the shock took precedence as he surveyed him mutely. Blue eyes met black and Naruto inhaled sharply at the sight of his former team mate. He was confused, strangely intrigued and thinking back to the last time he'd nagged the Hokage about following a trail that might have led to Sasuke.

He remembered how _distant_ the granny had been about it.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

_Naruto stood, staring at the Hokage impatiently; he waited for her to respond to his presence. She kept her back to him, staring out the window of her office. There was no easy way to say this, they both knew it was coming. Too much had been squandered by the council on this war, the elders and Danzou Shimura calling for more supplies when the enemy was already so close. They needed every able bodied ninja in the village or on reconnaissance. The Hokage had no time to waste on the missing-nin that Naruto was so desperate to bring back. _

_They both knew what she was about to say._

"_I want you to forget about the Uchiha," Tsunade said softly. "He's not coming back Naruto. You must face this."_

_Naruto shook his head at her. This was the same rhetoric again, the same tired speech she gave him, trying to get him to do the impossible. He wouldn't believe that Sasuke would never come back, even if he had to bring him back by force. There was no way the granny could convince him. But he couldn't just leave the village in this heightened state of war, especially considering he was one of the only two jinchuriki left now for Madara to hunt and extract a bijuu from. The old man was persistent in this tirade._

_The blond Shinobi was sure, if he could get to Sasuke, he could convince him to stop. If not, then the Uchiha clan was going to be wiped out, regardless of Naruto's standing on the matter. There was too much at stake for him to put getting Sasuke back over bolstering Konoha's defences. He __knew__ this, but it tore him apart, and after many tantrums and attempted fleeing, he'd been tied down and only recently released because he was needed. Soon, Madara would be making his move, but they didn't know __when__._

"_I can't granny," Naruto said softly. "I have to save–"_

"_He's an Uchiha dammit," Tsunade snapped. "He'll come or go as he pleases, the fucking __baka__. So stop your babbling Naruto."_

_Naruto huffed. "What are you talking about? He's not going to come back on his own. I have to go __get__ him, even if I have to break–"_

"_You will do no such thing!" Tsunade yelled, her eyes widening, and surprising the Shinobi. "Stop chasing after shadows Naruto, stop wasting your life on a fantasy. Maybe then you can open those ridiculous things you call eyes and see what's right in front of you."_

_Naruto baulked, looking terrified. "W-what the fuck are you t-talking about granny?"_

_She rolled her eyes at him, sighing deeply. "Sakura's been asking about you again, hasn't she?"_

**.:. -/ \- .:**

And here he was, in one piece and surrounded by leaf ninja who had accompanied him to this hideout, formerly owned by Orochimaru. The silence was killing Naruto as he continued to stare, dumbfounded at the sight of Sasuke Uchiha. The raven haired man was not remotely as he'd pictured he would be, should they ever meet again. The blond wasn't even sure he wasn't imagining things. There was no killer intent, no Sharingan, and no sword, with his hand placed warily on it, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Who was this clone of his former team mate?

Naruto swallowed heavily, realising that every eye was flickering between him and Sasuke. They were waiting to see who would speak first. For years, the blond had loudly declared his desire to get his friend back, and now the Uchiha had returned, of his own volition. Kakashi for one was hoping there would be hugging involved. He was tired of the stagnant reactions to Sasuke's survival (Tsunade had hugged Sasuke, but that didn't count in his opinion – she had been mothering everyone since the attack on the leaf, five days ago).

Sasuke broke the silence, his voice barely more than a croak. "Naruto…"

Naruto's eyes welled up and he threw himself at his friend, embracing the lost member of the Konoha twelve. He sobbed into his shoulder, not holding anything back. The rest of the ninja who had come with Sasuke started to move past the hugging former team mates. Only Tsunade and Kakashi hovered nearby, waiting for Naruto to release Sasuke. But the blond seemed content, pouring out his heart to his old friend. He told him how much he missed him, how much he'd wanted to bring him back, as well as what an asshole he was for not coming back on his own a long time ago. Naruto sobbed out his feelings and eventually, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and tried to pull away.

The _baka_'s grip on him was vice-like and both Tsunade and Kakashi had to work together to pry them apart. They were alone, the four of them, outside and staring at Naruto and Sasuke.

"It's okay to admit you missed him too Sasuke," Kakashi teased him.

The Uchiha just rolled his eyes at him. No way was he going to admit that out loud.

"Come on," Tsunade said. "Let's get you two inside and out of the chill of the morning."

"Someone needs to stand watch," Naruto insisted, wiping at his tears.

"We'll find Moegi, or bring Konohamaru back up," Tsunade said, waving her hands at him. "Now get your stupid, goofy face underground."

They turned around, realising there was a commotion just inside the compound. They climbed in to find Kiba Inuzuka (growling angrily and looking like he was about to eat everyone in sight) was being held by his sister, Hana, her arms around his neck in a headlock as he struggled violently and noisily.

"What is going on?" Tsunade asked, her voice echoing off walls.

"I believe I can answer that Lady Hokage," Shino Aburame said, in that drab tone. "I merely suggested that he take a bath in one of the rooms here."

"Yeah?" Kiba shouted. "I'm not the one who _stinks_ Aburame!"

"There's been some tension between them," Kakashi whispered to Sasuke, who was shocked.

So many people weren't getting along: firstly, Neji and Tenten, and now Kiba and Shino. The common denominator seemed to be that each of them were former team mates... and both groups had been connected to Hinata Hyuuga. This was a strong déjà vu for the Uchiha.

"Naruto?"

The feminine voice drew both of Naruto and Sasuke's eyes and everyone in the vicinity went quiet (Hana kept Kiba in the headlock however). A crowd had gathered at Kiba's outburst, and knowing that the Hokage had returned. But now, they remained silent, their eyes darting to the Uchiha and his former team mates. Then Sakura's eyes fell on Sasuke's, and Naruto swallowed heavily, fear creeping into his heart. He felt like the earth was about to up and swallow him.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

+/_\+


	6. Lost To Passion

**Due to lack of inspiration and motivation, and because the story has died in my head, there is little point in continuing something that I will not be able to do justice to. That said, this story is rated M for a reason, and the anticipation of a SasuSakuNaru lemon has been building up and I'm not one to leave that kind of thing hanging. So, for **youknowwhoiam**, who has been nagging me for this, and **TheLavenderHippie**, who has reviewed every chapter since I first posted, this chapter is the SasuSakuNaru lemon. It is full on smut, as promised.**

**Sakura's Boys**

**.:. -/ \- .:**

**Lost To Passion**

The ninja academy had been demolished, the streets of Konoha broken and empty, and with nothing left to salvage. The village hidden in the leaves was now only slightly obscured by mist, debris, and dust. Those who had survived had moved into the shelters made up of four encampments, ranging from temporary shelters of tents, caves, and old underground compounds that used to belong to Orochimaru. There was nowhere inside their village for them to live, even temporarily. The upturned dirt, rubble, and haze of Konoha were making this impossible.

Three weeks on from the end of the last great Shinobi war, news had finally reached them on every nation, with every detail on their situation, down to every last survivor, casualty and missing persons list, as well as military strength and the new joint efforts to bring the great nations back onto their feet.

Sakura Haruno had been working nonstop to bring the hospital back up to speed, while facilitating the removal of debris from Konoha, now that it had been completely demolished. Tsunade, in all her infinite so called wisdom, had spent two days staring out over the rubble that was Konoha, trying to decide on her next move. In the end, she'd decided to summon Katsuyu and along with both the giant slug, and Gamabunta (the toad Naruto could summon), she flattened what was left of the village hidden in the leaves.

There were still grumblings about whether or not Tsunade had lost her mind, but as one of the few people who knew that the blond slug queen was soon to officially hand her Hokage reins over to Naruto, Sakura ignored the irritating gossipers.

Meanwhile, reconstruction was going as planned. This had been the only way for them to be able to return to Konoha and rebuild their lives. There was no way to avoid having to demolish the rubble, so as sad as it had made her to watch it happen, Sakura knew it _had_ to happen. It wasn't the last thing she needed to deal with, having avoided both Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki as much as possible since she'd last set eyes on Sasuke. She remembered the terrified clenching of her heart, the fear and adrenaline, and her sudden desire to jump his bones, even though they had an audience. She was dating Naruto, it would have been more than just inappropriate.

So without a word, she'd slapped the last Uchiha and stalked deeper into the underground complex to avoid showing the tears that were forming. It was all she could do just to get away from the staring, curious, and tentative faces of the people she knew and loved, waiting for her reaction. And by Kami, if she hadn't slapped him, she would've kissed him!

'_How fucked up is __that__?'_

In her guilt over these feelings, she'd included Naruto in her "must avoid at all costs" lists, at least until she could figure out what she wanted. But three weeks on, she still hadn't decided. She loved them both, Kami she _wanted_ them both. It was a fucked up situation. Sakura had even asked Ino for her advice, the blond Yamanaka who was shacking up with Kiba Inuzuka was still her best friend. Ino's suggestion? Offer Sasuke and Naruto a threesome. It had made the pinkette blush so profusely she temporarily lost the ability to speak properly. Apparently that was all the proof the blond Kunoichi needed to believe it was what the pinkette wanted, not to mention what was ultimately meant to be.

Recovering from the embarrassment, Sakura had sought out Shikamaru Nara. Okay, so she knew he'd tell her to stop bugging him with her troublesome problems, but he was intelligent, and upon finding Temari Sabaku alive and well, well, he was doing very nicely in the romance department. The land of wind was uninhabitable right now, due to the sandstorms, so many of its survivors were seeking refuge in neighbouring countries or in border towns. Right now, the Kazekage, his sister, and a host of low ranking officials were being put up in temporary housing not far from Konoha. Gaara and Temari were the only high ranking ninja from Sunagakure who were still alive. Sakura felt sorry for them, empathy too, as she knew what it was like to lose family, and they were still mourning Kankuro.

Back to the problem at hand; Shikamaru had reiterated Ino's suggestion. It wasn't done with a wink, a smirk and a knowing grin, but the meaning was the same. Did everyone get a personality transplant when the war broke out, or what?

Sakura's last ditch attempt, perhaps to suppress her growing desire to act on her need for that suggested threesome, was to talk to Tsunade. Not the best plan, she understood this, but the only one she had left now. The blond, who was about to retire, just gave her a sympathetic smile and told her to follow her heart. But Sakura's heart was torn in two, didn't she see that? With those words out of her mouth, Tsunade had one last thing to say:

"You're not torn in two Sakura, you're embarrassed. If you want Naruto, go to Naruto. If you want Sasuke, then go to Sasuke. But you know the truth already, don't you? You don't need me to tell you where your heart truly lies. If you listen to it long enough without worrying about what anyone will think about you, you'll see what I mean."

And it was with that enigmatic, and yet thoroughly accurate speech, that Sakura realised she knew what to do. But before she did so, she needed to collect something from her new apartment. It was one of the newest blocks and as the prized ex-student of the fifth Hokage, she had been given this space for herself. Checking to make sure she wasn't being followed by a knucklehead or the Sharingan, the pinkette went home.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

Sakura removed the seals around her apartment and sighed, closing the door behind her. She went straight into the shower, and changed into a simpler version of her normal ninja clothes – just a pair of black shorts and pink top, nothing special. She dried her hair and set about contacting both Naruto and Sasuke via a scroll messenger. They were both very busy when not trying to hound her about their predicament, and the small summoning ferret she was sending their way would finally put this bitch down.

She needed to settle this once and for all.

Sakura rubbed her temples. She needed happier thoughts. Sasuke had been surprised when he came back, to find Sakura and Naruto dating. He even pouted, in his own, aloof way. It was so cute! Of course, she hadn't given Naruto time to gloat, avoiding them both, but it was still entertaining to watch them get riled up over it. She sighed.

So Sakura had given them the chance to put this to rest. She'd tortured them enough after all. She had learnt over the years that she loved them both. She had only had sex with Naruto, but not Sasuke. It was going to be difficult to convince them to do this, but she had the advantage, and fully intended on making them see her point of view.

Tsunade was right. She couldn't give either of them up.

She played with a kunai, spinning it around and thinking hard. Her parents had died in Madara's attack, as had the families of most everyone she knew. Tsunade was arranging more funerals later in the week, of people previously missing in action, who had recently been found dead. It was after that was over that she'd be handing things over to Naruto. It was the slug queen's guilt that had made her wait this long to do so, and if she had just dumped the work load on Naruto, it would've been too much to ask of him. So she had confessed to Sakura that she had been giving him Hokage training, so that they would be working alongside each other. When the leaf finally got back up on its feet, she would hand the reins over formally.

Sakura could only imagine what Naruto had said to complain.

"Hokage in training, grandma! No way!"

She giggled. He would have put up a stink for sure. Kami how she loved him. She sighed. And her problems were just beginning. A knock on her door startled her out of her reverie and she sensed Naruto's chakra on the other side. Excited, she dropped the kunai and half ran toward the door. She was glad when the opening of her apartment door revealed the gorgeous blond and her heart fluttered at the sight of the cheeky grin on his face. He was trying to beat Sasuke to her, and she noticed the tall, raven haired man a moment later. Naruto groaned.

"Go away teme, she's my girlfriend."

Sakura smirked at them. "Why don't you both come in?"

Clearly intrigued, they did as they were told and once the door was closed; the pinkette spoke before they could.

"Sasuke, I love Naruto, I'm not leaving him for you."

He kept his stoic expression, but to her, his disappointment was obvious. Naruto on the other hand was ecstatic.

"Wait," she held up a hand to stop the blond as he made to move toward her triumphantly. "I'm not finished."

He whined and she smiled slightly. Really, how had she not seen him this way all along? She could face palm herself for all those lost moments. Sakura cleared her throat.

"But Naruto, you've always known how I feel about Sasuke. I love him."

They were both _very_ confused. Naruto scrunched up his face and Sasuke stared at her intently. She put them out of their misery.

"I want you _both_."

Sasuke surprised her by reacting first. "Have you really thought this one through?"

She nodded. "I have, and I don't want to lose either of you. I can't help how I feel, and if either of you two don't want me, regardless of who else is in the equation, you can leave this apartment right now."

She hadn't meant it to sound ice cold, but she didn't want them to think there might be a way around her decision. There would be no more wooing, no more indecisive actions. She was resolute in this.

Naruto frowned at her and thumbed in Sasuke's direction. "I'm not fucking teme."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "No-one's asking you to Naruto."

They fell silent again, thinking it through. It wasn't a decision to be made lightly, so she offered them a week, to mull it over, and then promptly kicked them _both_ out of her apartment.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

Sakura was nervous. If they were going to make this work, they'd decided to at least _try_ sleeping together once, to see how they went; after all, no healthy relationship was based solely on sex. But without good sex, how could she expect them both to stay with her? And they needed to be sure they even wanted this.

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke had given her a definitive answer, but they discussed it between the two of them (well, she guessed Naruto had ranted and debated, while Sasuke remained silent, only to add "hn" when he agreed or glare when he disagreed). And then they'd approached her about a no strings attached night, where they would have sex and decide in the morning if it was worth it.

'_Trust a couple of __guys__ to boil an emotional decision down to a simple, sexual one.'_

But there was nothing simple about having sex with both Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki.

They'd come to her apartment at eight o'clock at night, all three of them taking a few hours to rest after a whole day of work had exhausted them. She fingered the seams on her top nervously as they had a late dinner and Naruto offered to put away their dirty plates. Sasuke could see she was nervous, but he and Naruto had promised each other they would make this as Sakura orientated as possible. _She_ was why they were here, not each other.

When Naruto had returned and they were ready, the blond took her hand to try to calm her nerves and led the way into her bedroom. She was grateful for that, and the moment she stepped over the threshold, she felt her fear diminish to nothing. These were her boys, she'd known them since their early days in the academy, and had suffered both with them and for them more times than she could count.

'_I can do this.'_

Without hesitation, Sakura undid her top, letting the material fall carelessly to the floor. Naruto knew her well enough to know she would pound them into the wall if he and Sasuke continued to just gawk at her without removing their own clothes. He nodded to the raven haired man, who seemed to suddenly understand.

Sakura was completely naked, having climbed backwards onto her bed as she watched her boys undress. She'd seen Naruto naked many times; every muscle, every twitch, and every single inch of him was the same. The sight of his body always made her wet. She moved her eyes to Sasuke, pleasantly surprised by the equally god-like body now exposed to her. She felt her heart beat quicken at the sight of his dick, licking her lips as she imagined all the things she could do with that.

Naruto chuckled at her as she eyed them off, and winked at Sasuke before joining Sakura on the bed, the Uchiha on his heels. Sakura moved forward, placing her hands up to stop their movements and shifted to straddle Sasuke, his hands on her hips as Naruto knelt next her, his hand on his dick.

She moved one of Sasuke's hands to her lower abdomen, and as the blond watched intently while stroking himself, the raven haired man slid his fingers into her wet core. She let out a soft yelp at the fierceness of his intrusion, biting her bottom lip as Naruto groaned.

Sasuke stretched her walls with his fingers, enticing her body to overflow, the juices lathering up his hand as he fisted her. She cried out, falling forward before she could stop herself, as he smirked and Naruto chuckled. Her face was an inch from Sasuke's. She kissed his deeply, opening this passage to him, letting him explore her cavern. Once she came, he pulled his hand out of her pussy and she pulled away, still on her knees.

Naruto chuckled again, staring at the state of Sasuke's hand. "Nice."

Before the raven haired man could start licking his hand clean, Sakura took a hold of his wrist.

"Wait Sasuke," she said and he watched her as she turned to the blond.

She grabbed Naruto's ball sac, pulling him gently closer, and he moved his hand out of her way as she teased him with her mouth. His dick twitched in her mouth. He had only been moments from stiffness when she'd started sucking him and pushing him over the edge. She pulled away and moved Sasuke's hand to Naruto's dick. The boys' eyes went wide, but they didn't complain, not wanting to upset her. Sasuke stroked Naruto as instructed, realising what the pinkette had in mind as the come on his hands, still wet and sticky, slid over the blond's dick like lubricant. He licked his bottom lip as Naruto let out a soft moan; Sakura giggled softly, watching them.

Naruto's penis was so tense in Sasuke's hand, he was surprised by the slight twitching of the muscle under his stroking. He didn't know what to say about this. Sakura let it go on a little while longer, and then took Sasuke's hand back. He smirked up at her and she grinned. He sat up. She pushed Naruto onto his ass, and then climbed onto the blond's lap, backwards.

Naruto laughed softly, holding her ass as she lowered down over his member. The walls in her rear screamed at her, despite the lubricant, but she ignored the slight twinge, indicating to Sasuke as Naruto laid onto his back. She spread her legs as far as they would go, now rising and falling slowly on the blond as Sasuke knelt down in front of her. He pushed her backward gently, his hand remaining on her chest, gripping her left breast tightly.

She yelped slightly at the pain and leant back, her hands on the floor, on either side of Naruto's torso. This was incredibly sexy, and she had already decided, that if the boys were willing, this would not be the last time they did this.

Sasuke was captivated by the sight of her pelvis rising and falling in front of him, her folds glistening and practically dripping. He blinked heavily, removed his hand from her breast, and leant into her, his arms on either side of her. As his lips crashed down onto hers, he pushed himself into her, in one swift, brutal thrust. She screamed into his mouth, and then bit his bottom lip in retaliation. He chuckled softly, feeling Naruto's hands sliding between them as all three bodies moved at the same time.

Sasuke continued to kiss the pinkette, enjoying her teasing tongue. Naruto groaned loudly, his right hand snaking around and squeezing Sakura's right nipple, while his left hand slid to her crotch, and proceeded to play with her clitoris. The raven haired man felt the brush of his hand on his dick in the moments he pulled his cock out of the pinkette before slamming back into her mercilessly. He had to admit, though only to himself, that it only heightened his arousal.

But he was in love with Sakura, not the _dobe_. So if being with the pinkette meant that he had to occasionally feel Naruto brush his dick with his hand, or lubricate the dobe's dick, like Sakura had instructed him to do before, it was worth it.

With that thought, Sasuke deepened the kiss on her, the sound of flesh slapping flesh as he pounded her now louder than even Naruto's moaning. She lowered her hips to swallow Naruto's dick, then lifted herself to get slammed by Sasuke's relentless thrusts. The ferocity of their grinding, and the way Sakura's body responded to being slammed from both ends put any doubts to rest. They all agreed without words that this was what they wanted.

It seemed to last forever. Both boys were incredibly hard and the sight of their pinkette, flushed and grinding them like there was no tomorrow, kept them hard. They couldn't get enough of her.

"Fuck!"

Hours into the beginnings of their physical release, they let loose inside of her. Sakura had already come several times, and was aching from the constant pounding, her walls contracting as she squeezed them one last time.

Thank god she'd remembered to do a birth control jutsu shortly before the boys had turned up for the night.

She fully intended on being the one to help Sasuke revive his clan, but this plan affected Naruto as well, so she was going to tread carefully.

She collapsed back onto her pillows, seconds from passing out as Naruto and Sasuke moved up on either side of her.

"I love you," she whispered softly, although not indicating who she was talking to. But they got the message.

It was after eight when she woke again, and found herself lying naked between her two favourite boys, just basking in their equally nude presence on either side of her. None of them had had the strength to pull the covers up, but it wasn't cold, so she didn't mind.

Naruto moaned, waking up next to her and she realised Sasuke was already awake, but hadn't move, just taking in her naked form with his eyes. She stretched, yawned, and gave a small yelp as Naruto moved his hand to her vagina; he started to gently massage her. His engorged member brushed her hip as Sasuke watched, getting his own hard on. Sakura parted her knees, her eyes closing as Naruto's left leg coiled around hers to part her further. She started to rub her own nipples, pleasured and turned on by everything Naruto was doing.

It went unspoken, what they were doing, despite Sasuke whispering his dirty thoughts to her.

And eventually, he took her right hand, snapping her eyes open, and lowered it to his dick. She rolled her head over to kiss him as she stroked his muscle. Naruto suckled on her nipple now, lifting off of the bed slightly to do so. He finger fucked her, loving the mewl of appreciation, and shifted his body to slide between her legs. Ignoring Sasuke's moaning as the pinkette handled his dick, Naruto lifted Sakura's left knee up as high as it would go, keeping her leg bent, and thrust into her, _hard_.

Sakura let out a deep, animalistic growl, half screaming as she broke her kiss with Sasuke. The raven haired man found her reaction almost as much as a turn on as the blond did. Naruto was still suckling her breasts as he pounded her. His body gyrated and she cried out, increasing the speed with which she lathered Sasuke's penis, twisting her head to capture his lips once again.

"Mine," he whispered to her, ignoring Naruto's chuckle. They were both thinking the same thing, but only _he_ had said it. Sakura belonged to them both, and she had no intention of sharing.

**.:. -/ \- .:**

+/_\+

**Slightly anti-climatic, but there it is. I would like to thank everyone who is still reading this, even though it gradually started getting less attention as the chapters went on. It doesn't take unparalleled interest in a fic to keep it going, but it certainly helps, and I am eternally grateful to those who kept coming back for more. Thank you.**

– Tarra


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